On his impressions of Game 1:
Pretty much what was expected out of both teams. We said it before they were a big, physical team, and that was how they played, and especially in their building. They have an identity, and it’s a difficult place to play.
On the “premier center matchup” between Anze Kopitar and Ryan Getzlaf:
Two premier centers matching up. You know what? Both guys had big nights.
On the challenge for fans after going down 0-3 and tying the game with seven seconds left:
They get to still watch. That’s the easy part. Most teams’ don’t.
On whether it’s difficult “to deal” with a smaller group of players:
Yes, for sure it is. Not just the changes in the game, the way it is. Just the way your schedules are, and the way guys come in banged up. We came into the postseason not sure. Hey, we were in Game 2 not sure who our defensemen were against San Jose. You know what? It’s not just the defensemen. You need other guys to help you out a little bit.
On the importance of winning Game 1 on the road:
You’ve got to win in their building sometime. It’s easier the first game, but it’s always better to have a lead than not have a lead.
On the “resilience” and “toughness” exhibited by Los Angeles in the playoffs:
Well, when you match it up, you do it always before games, and there’s nights where you don’t match up in certain areas, but there’s one matchup that we always do, and that means that you’re going to have to play the whole 60 minutes. And I know there’s lots of talk about leads and giving up leads and all that stuff going on, well if you watch what’s going on now, everybody’s playing really good. Teams that have leads are playing really good, and teams that give up a lead, the other team’s playing really good. Our team just knows that type of team they are, and they stay with it. It doesn’t mean you’re going to win, but you get your hands full.
On whether there’s a reason leads haven’t been as safe in this year’s postseason:
Well, first off, it gets a little bit of a runaway train. Why is having a two-goal lead in the first period ‘blowing a lead?’ That’s not blowing a lead. That means you did a hell of a job to get a two-goal lead. I watched the game on TV yesterday – the Montreal-Boston game – that’s just flat out a great game. Montreal played great, and Boston played great. Anybody who walked away from it and said “blow” or “give up” or “great comeback,” no it wasn’t. It was just a great game. I mean there’s the odd lucky goal, there’s a lot of great goals, there’s some great performances. I don’t think it’s anything new that’s happening, or anything spectacular. I just think the teams are better, and you’re deeper. For example, we’re [playing Anaheim, and I’m sure they’re looking at us the same way. It’s not like the old days where there was two lines that could score and one line that could check and one line that couldn’t play. Now, all four do. Talk about some teams now…You go 30, 16, 8. You know what?…somebody’s coming back. It’s not rope ‘n ride. There’s lots going on out there. It’s fun to coach, quite honest, games like that.
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